Young’s a Bolt from the blue

Sprinter has his eyes on hero’s record

THOMAS YOUNG vowed to see hero Usain Bolt and raise him after scorching to 100m gold.

Bolt won the blue-riband event at the Beijing, London and Rio Olympics, and the confident Young (above) is already eyeing Brisbane in 11 years’ time after his Tokyo Paralympics success.

Substance

You have to admire his swagger but after smashing the 11-second barrier for the first time, there is substance to his fighting talk. Don’t expect his Wiki page to be just 35 words long.

Young missed world gold on a photo finish two years ago and immediately vowed never to feel the same way again.

He got off to a flying start, leaving rivals playing catch-up in the men’s T38 event. “Any kid growing up in this sport was inspired by Usain Bolt and he’s got three 100m golds and I’d like that too, maybe more,” he said, his 10.94 second time a new European record.

Dominant

“I want to be a dominant force in this sport, I know Paris is next but I’m already thinking about Brisbane.

“It’s so special after the heartbreak of what happened at the worlds, I just can’t explain what I’m feeling right now.

“I had some time off after that championships but I knew there was work to do. We worked so hard throughout the pandemic to get it right on this day, and it’s the best feeling in the world.

“Next year I want the European title and I’ve got a home Commonwealth Games then it’ll be about getting the world title, so I hold all four.”

Thank you to National Lottery players for supporting our Olympic and Paralympic athletes - you raise around £30 million each week for good causes including grassroots and elite sport. To find out more, visit www. national-lottery.co.uk/tokyogoodcauses